I’m always alert when news of computer viruses hits the wires. I’ve been in the virus extraction business for years. This morning’s news of a Stuxnet virus targeting Siemens industrial machines was interesting, but didn’t seem relevant to any of my clients, except that the authors were getting more and more sophisticated. That a state agent was likely involved had serious implications beyond my small company clients. (more…)
Lots of folks simply use the internet browser that comes with their computer — MSIE for PC folks. Mozilla’s Firefox has been getting attention and use over the past couple of years. Old warhorses like Netscape seem to have all but disappeared. There are quite a few more available, though. The NY Times Tech section has a good run down of four of them:
INTERNET EXPLORER 8 (Microsoft)
SAFARI 4 BETA (Apple)
CHROME 2.0 BETA (Google)
FIREFOX 3.1 BETA (Mozilla)
I’ve been using Firefox almost exclusively for several years, except for going to Microsoft for updates — which won’t speak to anything but MSIE. I started trying out Google’s Chrome a few months back and I will say it is very fast! Compared to MSIE it wins hands down. As the reviewer at the Times says, there aren’t any plug-ins yet so some of what we expect to experience on the Internet aren’t available yet. Check it out though.
If you’re a Facebook user, or you have them in the family — watch out! A fast traveling virus referred to as Koobface is making the rounds. You will get a message in your Facebook Inbox that seems to be from a friend. It will say something flattering and invite you to click on a link. Don’t do it!
Users whose computers are infected may have their credit card numbers stolen or their searches on Google, Yahoo and MSN diverted to fraudulent Web sites.
Not the usual fare here, but as a digital dependent media we have an obligation to help keep the net clear. From the SF Chronicle Tech Chronicles.
Latest spam e-mails pose as CNN alerts
Google, which tracks spam as part of its program to offer businesses e-mail security, has seen a 600 percent increase in unwanted e-mails since July 20, many disguised as personalized CNN newsletters, marketing manager Sundar Raghavan said Monday.
The company is warning users not to click on these e-mails, which are cleverly written and contain some valid links.
The spammers don’t appear interested in stealing data, Raghavan said. Rather, anyone who clicks on the e-mails downloads code that turns his or her machine into a spam-spewing bot.
Google advises recipients not to click on links or attachments in e-mails from people they don’t know. If you’re curious about a CNN alert, search for the story on CNN’s Web page.
Google figures that 93 percent of all inbound e-mail is now spam and that the average corporate employee has received around 26,000 messages so far this year, up from around 18,000 in all of 2007. On a peak day for this attack, July 24, Google saw 10 million messages pass through its servers, Raghavan said.
- Deborah Gage
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